Our final Olympic memory comes from Tim Hardaway, who 1st gained national prominence at the University of Texas at El Paso while playing for Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins. Armed with a killer crossover known as the “UTEP 2-step”, he led his team to a pair of NCAA tourneys and won the 1989 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best college player in the nation 6′ or shorter. After being selected 14th overall by Golden State in the 1989 NBA Draft, he partnered with Chris Mullin/Mitch Richmond to form “Run TMC” and was named to 5 All-Star teams from 1991-1998. He had back-to-back seasons of 20+ PPG /10+ APG in 1992/1993 and remains in the top-25 all-time with 7000+ AST/1500+ 3PM. In the summer of 2000 he was a part of team USA at the Olympics in Sydney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Tim about winning a gold medal and playing for the legendary Don Haskins.
You played for Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins at UTEP, where you became known for your devastating crossover dribble (dubbed the “UTEP 2-step”): what made Haskins such a great coach, and how did you come up with your signature move? Haskins was great because he understood ballplayers and what it took to win. He was hard-nosed but fair and helped a lot of us out with life outside of basketball. I developed the 2-step as a sophomore after seeing another guy do a similar move on TV. I could not do the same exact move he did so I just came up with my own.
Take me through the 1987 NCAA tourney:
Chris Blocker made a jumper with 1 second left in regulation en route to a 7-PT OT win over Arizona in Tucson (Sean Elliott scored 26 PTS in defeat): where does that shot rank among the most clutch that you have ever seen, and how big of a home-court advantage did the Wildcats have that night? At that time it was probably the greatest shot that I had ever been a part of, especially in a big game like that where it is win-or-go-home. Chris almost won it by making a shot at the end of regulation but the refs said that his foot was on the line. We did not care about where we played because we had to play anyway, but a lot of people thought it was unfair for the Cats to be playing at home so that was the last time something disturbing like that happened.
You had 6 AST in a 2-PT loss to Iowa (Roy Marble scored 28 PTS in the win): where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? Back then it was very devastating. We should have won but turned the ball over too many times and did not make enough shots.
What are your memories of the 1989 NCAA tourney (you had 31 PTS/9 AST in a win over LSU, then scored 20 PTS in a loss to Indiana)? I wanted to play against Chris Jackson (33 PTS) because he was getting more ink than I was. I wanted to show everyone that I was the best PG so I was fired up when I found out that we would be playing LSU. We lost to the Hoosiers in Indianapolis because we did not make enough shots as a team. If we put our minds to it we could play with anyone in the country.
In 1989 you were named WAC POY and also won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the best college player 6’ or under: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors, and did you consider your size to be an advantage or disadvantage? Winning awards like that just showed that my teammates/coach had confidence in me. We had a lot of great players in the conference back then (Fennis Dembo/Eric Leckner/Michael Smith) so it was a great tribute to win that award. I did not even know that I was a finalist for the Naismith until our PR guy told me about it but it was also a great honor. I did not think my size was good or bad either way: I just utilized it to the best of my ability. When I faced taller guys I just played the game the way I had been taught by my dad/coaches.
In the summer of 1989 you were drafted 14th overall by Golden State (3 spots ahead of Shawn Kemp): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? I did not realize that I could make it in the NBA until my senior year at UTEP. I used to play in Chicago against guys like Isiah Thomas/Terry Cummings as well as a bunch of other good guys who did not make it. If it were not for them I would not have made it.
You reached 5,000 PTS/2,500 AST in 262 games (faster than any player except for Oscar Robertson): how were you able to make such a smooth transition from college to the NBA, and did you think that you were on your way to a Hall of Fame career? I never thought that I would have a Hall of Fame career, but playing against guys like Doc Rivers/Michael Jordan in the summer helped me improve a lot. Coach Don Nelson threw me into the fire and I just took it from there. It also helped that my teammates like Chris Mullin/Mitch Richmond made shots when I passed it to them!
In Game 5 of the 1991 Western Conference Semifinals you had 27 PTS/20 AST while playing 51 minutes in a 5-PT OT loss to the Lakers (becoming the only player to ever have 20+ PTS/20+ AST in a playoff game): how exhausted were you by the end of that game, and do you think that anyone will ever match your record? I was very, very exhausted. We had a chance to win in both regulation and OT but some guy named Magic Johnson took over and had a triple-double (28 PTS/14 REB/12 AST). Some good young PG might be able to do it.
In December 1991 you set an NBA record by going 0-17 from the field in a 4-PT OT win at Minnesota (you did have 13 AST and made both your FT): were you just ice-cold that night, and what impact (if any) did it have on your confidence? It had no impact on my confidence: I was just missing shots that night, even open layups. The visitors’ locker room in Minnesota was painted yellow because it was supposed to make you relax, and I was relaxed. I was glad we won the game, which is all I remember.
You are the only player to ever have 20+ PTS/10+ AST/8+ STL in a playoff game…and you did it twice (28 PTS/14 AST/8 STL in a 1-PT win at the Lakers in Game 2 of the 1991 Western Conference Semifinals and 27 PTS/11 AST/8 STL in a 3-PT loss at Seattle in Game 4 of the 1992 Western Conference 1st round): how were you able to balance your scoring/passing/defense? I had a job to do to put my team in a position to win. If the shot presented itself I took the shot, and if the pass presented itself I made the pass. I had quick hands/feet on defense, which put me in a position to make steals. I just tried to win by any means necessary.
In the 1992 All-Star game you received the 2nd-most votes at the guard spot, but stepped aside so that Magic Johnson could come out of retirement and start for the West: why did you decide to do this, and what did it mean to Magic? It meant the world to Magic: even after being diagnosed with HIV he was still able to play well. A great player like Magic should have been able to go out on his own terms, but it did not happen that way. When the opportunity presented itself I told him that he could start: if he were still active the fans would have voted him a starter anyway. When he was named MVP it was just icing on the cake.
In 1992 you became the 8th player in NBA history to average 20+ PTS/10+ AST in a season (Oscar Robertson/Chris Paul/Magic Johnson/Tiny Archibald/Kevin Johnson/Isiah Thomas/Michael Adams), and you are 1 of a handful players with 7000+ AST/1500+ 3PM (along with superstars like Jason Kidd/Steve Nash): what is the key to being a great PG, and do you consider yourself to be 1 of the best PGs ever? I will let other people judge me however they want to: it is not for me to say. Averaging 20 PPG/10 APG takes a lot of hard work: your teammates have to have confidence in you as well as in themselves.
You had terrible luck when it came to international basketball (you tore your ACL before the 1994 World Championship, then missed the 1998 World Championship due to the NBA lockout) before winning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics: what did it mean to you to win the gold? It was absolutely beautiful: I would not change it for anything in the world. It was great for my colleagues to vote me onto the Olympic team.
In March 1997 you scored a career-high 45 PTS in a 3-PT OT win at Washington: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? We had a back-to-back series against Washington and had lost to them the night before after blowing a 20-PT lead. Coach Pat Riley was upset so I just came into the next game and took the initiative from start to finish. I made a last-second shot in OT to help win the game, which was great for me: if I had scored 45 PTS and we had lost then I would not have been happy..
You scored a playoff career-high 38 PTS (including 18 in the 3rd quarter) in a win over the Knicks in Game 7 of the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals to become 1 of the few teams in NBA history to ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterwards? The locker room was amazing. We were all into the game so when Alonzo Mourning got into foul trouble late we were looking around to see who would step up. I had done this millions of times dating back to high school so I just put the team on my shoulders and made stuff happen. When you are in the zone your teammates just try to feed you the ball.
Your father Donald is a playground basketball legend in Chicago, and your son Tim Jr. is now in the NBA: who is the best athlete in the family? My dad was great because he just went out and played the game the way it was supposed to be played. He was a 6’3” forward but just used his strength to beat people up and take the game to his opponents. You have to play with a lot of heart, which is something I got from my dad. The sky is the limit for my son but he still has a long way to go: I try not to look ahead until it is time to do so. He already did something I never did: he was a starter as a freshman (at Michigan) and played 30 minutes/game. He worked his way in and took off quicker than both he and I thought he would. I tell him not to rest on his laurels or read any of the clippings so that he stays focused.